Manual history

A Topper / Holdover is also granted to non-playoff teams to help foster parity in the league. This is a 'tradable' asset - and is highly coveted. A non-playoff owner who receives a T/H may use that T/H option on any player (who is not on a 3-year contract) who is on their roster at the end of the season. For example, let's say The BeaverCats won Trey McBride in the 2023 auction for $3, but didn't put him on a 3-year contract (oops!). If The BeaverCats didn't make the playoffs in 2023, they would have the option to use their T/H to hold McBride over for $30 in 2024 (see the positional bullet points above for the amounts). Similarly, let's say Puka Doncic won Derrick Henry at the auction for $121 before he rushed for 28 TDs in 2023. Despite this massive point total, if Puka's missed the playoffs in 2023, Puka's ownership group could choose to either hold King Henry over for $146 ($121 + $25) in 2024, or 'top' him for +$1 after the last bid in the 2024 auction.

All toppers, and holdovers, must be declared before the auction.

All toppers, and holdovers, must be declared before the auction.Contractual Auto-Topper Rights

After successive 3-year contracts (2 long term cycles), the player is automatically returned to the auction player pool.  However the owner retains a contractual restricted free agent right to retain the player for $1 more than the final auction bidding. Auto-topper rights guarantee the owner the final bid on a player at the auction. When the Auctioneer announces: “Going once, twice, sold!”, and announces the winning price, the original owner with the auto-topper right can yell “Topped” and steal the player for $1 more than the winning bid. The topper right must be exercised before the bidding starts on the next player to be auctioned. You snooze, you lose.

Owners do not have to exercise topper rights. They are free to let a high-priced player go to the winning bidder. However, they cannot reset their topper right on a different player. It is spent.

Cuts & Buy-Outs